Making My Move
By BluJae
Disclaimer: Characters not mine. Plot is not completely mine, but most of it is.
Chapter 2: The Point-System
The walk back to the common room was pleasant. The halls were deserted and silent and all you could hear were the taps of the heels of our shoes as they hit the stone floor. There was a homey feel to this castle despite all the dangers I've experienced here. Ten years from now, when I'll think back to my childhood home, I know I'll be thinking about Hogwarts.
I know I will never lose affection for my muggle home. I did spend the first ten years of my life there. However, I didn't make as much memories in my ten years there as I did during my four-and-a-half years here in Hogwarts.
In my muggle life, I'd leave in the morning to attend school; then, I'd go to a nearby learning center to finish all my assignments or do some advanced learning. By the time I was dropped home, it would be quite late (for that young age) that all I'd do is eat dinner with my parents, if they were home already, and then get to bed.
Not many memories can be made when you're asleep.
At Hogwarts, it's different. I eat here. I sleep here. I learn here. I have adventures within its very walls. I have people around my age to treat as my family. And I know that for the rest of this year, and the next two to follow, more memories will be made. I know not all of them will be good. And with the rise of You-Know—I mean Voldemort, many will probably be terrible.
But as long as I have my friends—my family—by my side, I'll cherish every moment of my time here, at home.
Soon enough, we arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait. After saying the password—phoenix feathers—the portrait cracked open and familiar voices could be heard from within.
"It's not true."
"But we don't know that for sure, Neville. For all we know Finch-Fletchey could be onto something."
That was Seamus. I looked toward Parvati and Lavender. They both put their hand up, as if to say 'stop,' and I knew what they were thinking. We had to find out what they were on about before heading on in.
"I, for one, think Finch-Fletchey's right," said Dean. "I mean, take Harry. No offense, he's a great person and all, but even you, Neville, could beat him in the looks category. Just as long as you just stand still and not move at all," he said jokingly. Seamus laughed out loud. Neville's protest of "Hey!" was heard, followed by the sound of someone falling onto a couch.
"All right, all right. Only joking, Neville. As I was saying, look at Harry. He has that muggle nerd look going. However, most of the girls like that chap. Remember last year when all those girls asked him to the Yule Ball?"
"Yeah, think about it, Neville," continued Seamus. "If you check the point system, Harry has a ton. Let's pretend for a second that he didn't defeat You-Know-Who as a child and saved us all several times over the last few years. Even without that, he still has more points than…our points combined. First, his Firebolt. That has to be, what, 500 points! And then there's Hedwig. Owls are 350 points. Sorry Neville, toads are worth only 25. Being on the Quidditch team is a thousand points right there. He's loaded with these points."
"Now let's look at Ron." Dean again. "I don't judge guys or anything. But you have to admit, mate's better looking than the Harry Potter. He's also the tallest boy in our year. He also helped Harry in saving Hogwarts. But why doesn't he get as much attention as Harry?"
There was a pause, as if he were waiting for one of the other two to answer. I suspected he was waiting for Neville. Since he seemed to not want to answer, or didn't know the answer, Seamus answered for him.
"It's because he doesn't have as much points! He's on the Quidditch team, granted. But his broom is no where as great as Harry's. Although he does have Pig, it's so…tiny and… hyper. It doesn't compare to Harry's elegant Hedwig. Then there're his clothes, and how many points could a chess set really get you? I'm telling you, Justin has something here. You know what we have to do, don't you? We have to buy some fancy, cool, and expensive things. That way, more girls will like us."
"But," Neville began. "I really don't think that's right at all. This point system is only based on things."
"And?"
"And what about personality, character, and all the other important things?"
"Neville, those things don't matter," answered Dean. "You have a nice personality. Tell me, how many girls asked you to the dance last year?"
Another pause.
"I still say this point-system theory is wrong," said Neville after a few seconds. "Ok, granted, Harry does have more great things than Ron. But explain to me this: Why does Hermione like Ron instead of Harry?"
I blushed furiously. I accepted that everyone knew about me liking Ron, but I didn't think they'd talked about us behind our backs. I felt Parvati and Lavender staring at me at my side but didn't dare look back at them. Somehow, I managed to move my legs forward, closer to the opening, so I could hear them better. The other two follow suite and moved closer as well. I waited for the 'explanation' Neville was asking for, but Dean and Seamus seemed to have lose their ability to speak. Finally, Dean broke the silence.
"Ok, so maybe there's a flaw in this system. Maybe it doesn't work for every girl. But Hermione Granger is not like every girl. She's different from most of them. But the higher percentage of the female population seem to be going for the guy with the most points."
"You are hopeless," Neville said half-mockingly.
"I agree with him," said Seamus.
"Then you are, too." Neville chuckled.
"Oi, Dean. You think Parvati and Lavender check for points?"
"Probably. Parvati did go with Harry to the Yule Ball. And she and Lavender are alike. So…"
I heard both Parvati and Lavender gasp from my left and looked towards their direction. Their faces looked absolutely livid.
"Why, those little buggers," Parvati said under her breathe. "I am going to—
What she was going to do, I couldn't hear. I suddenly had a new thought: What if Ron heard of this ridiculous 'theory?' Would he believe it? Who was I kidding—of course he would.
I had to find him. I had to let him know that this was pure rubbish. I had to assure him that material things do not matter one little bit. I needed to tell him that, in my eyes, his points are uncountable—beyond infinity.
But then that meant I had to make the first move. Well, I suddenly didn't care anymore. I had to see him. I had to tell him. Who cares about going first or second as long as a move has been made, right?
The portrait was pushed open and Parvati and Lavender, still looking very angry, walked slowly inside. I followed them in, but only to drop my things on the nearest couch. After doing so, I turned around and ran out the common room to find Ron.
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A/N Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter. Thanks for your comments, suggestions, and kind words. I'd really appreciated more. J
